Christmas 2004: Good Will Towards Men
by ajremix
Summary: R is for the Returning to the spirit of holidays. Majik, in all his graciousness, restores Orphen's spirits.


Good Will Towards Men  
Sorcerous Stabber Orphen

Orphen had to give being Majik's teacher one thing, his father ran a very nice inn. Clean beds, good customers and a speedy room service. He was especially glad for the warm rooms when winter came through. It wasn't the harsh winters Orphen was used to, but he'd rather not deal with the cold if he didn't have to.

There was an awful lot of chattering going on this morning, raising him up from his comfortable sleep that wasn't, for once, plagued with dreams. People hustled in the halls, they bustled in the streets under his window and the bells were chiming incessantly for some reason. If it didn't bring any unwanted attention (and possible kicking out by his currently only source of finance) he'd blast the damn bells and try to reclaim what sleep he was already exhausting.

Then came the brave, poor soul that knocked on his door. Orphen peered at the insolent wood from under his layers of blankets. Die, he thought to it irritably.

"Ousho-sama!" Cried the far-too-awake intruder on the other side. Orphen retracted his last thought of death upon the son of his currently only source of finance that he was supposed to be teaching and instead changed it to a thought of light mauling. "Oushou-sama, time to get up!"

No it wasn't. Orphen grumbled to himself. He sought the timepiece that sat on the nightstand. Ha, see? Normally he'd be up two hours ago. Take that in your punctuality pipe and smoke it.

But, all in all, he supposed it /was/ about time to get up. Orphen shoved the blankets off himself, cursed, reached for one of them to cocoon himself with, put his feet on the floor, cursed again, wished for a rug, and made a path to the door by laying out the three blankets still laying useless on the bed.

Opening the door a crack, one amber eye glared balefully at Majik who was standing far too cheerfully in the hall. "Good morning, Ousho-sama!" He said. "Since you weren't down at the dinning area I just wanted to come up and let you know that we'll be serving brunch today. The food will be ready in less then an hour."

"Right, wonderful, perfect, thank you." He mumbled, thinking only of how the toasty blankets weren't covering up his bare feet, wiggling his toes in the open air.

"Also, father wanted to know if you were going to join us for dinner tonight?"

That question managed to pierce the thick current around Orphen's groggy brain. "What are you talking about?" He snapped, unhappy at the prospect of having to thinking this soon after waking up. Damn the mornings even if it wasn't morning anymore. "Where the hell else am I gonna eat?"

Majik, however, was the most saintly person Orphen had ever met and didn't even take his teacher's irritable mood with more than a brightening of his beatific smile. "It's Christmas Eve, Ousho-sama. We rarely have people staying over for dinner. After all, most people that stay here are visiting their friends and family. There's no reason for us to make food more than father and myself."

Christmas Eve, huh? Friends and family, huh? No wonder Orphen had been feeling rather dark spirited lately. It wasn't a holiday that was celebrated overtly at Tower of Fangs, the instructors feeling that it was too much of a distraction for their students and held no merit to the lessons they were trying to instill on the younger sorcerers. Sorcery was, after all, about power and ability, intelligence and strength in both mind and body. Christmas was supposed to be about hope and peace. The Tower worked towards peace but believed that merely 'hoping' would weaken the mind. If you wanted to hope, they said, then you'd best have to power to back it up. Hence there was no official celebration of the holiday.

But Orphen could live with that. He had Azalie and Hartia at the tower. He spent the holiday with them and they would celebrate it quietly together at first. But, eventually (as it did with all the other students) the meaning of the holiday would elude them and they were content to just be together and work their skills knowing they had someone to celebrate with if they so wished.

Orphen just waved a blanket clutched hand to both dispel his thoughts and wave off Majik's concern. "You're the only ones I know here. I'm sure you'd rather spend it with your father so I can just take dinner in here."

"But, Ousho-sama-!"

"Hm?"

Majik shrunk into himself a bit. His mentality was still too grounded into being a bellhop, unused to second guessing customers. "You could celebrate with us. I'm sure father won't mind."

Orphen raised a dark eyebrow. "Isn't Christmas supposed to be about spending time with those close to you?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"I'm just your teacher, Majik. Don't worry about me." Leaving Majik no time to contradict him the brunette closed the door with a soft click. He leaned his back against the heavy wood and looked at his toes, wriggling them again as he unwilling thought of all the holidays he had spent alone. Or taking his loved ones for granted.

Now thoroughly depressed Orphen made his way back to his bed and laid down. After a moment he kicked off the blankets and cursed through clenched teeth. Sleep had, once again, eluded him.

Once or twice Orphen contemplated actually going outside. It didn't normally snow on Christmas Eve here- didn't snow this year, either –but the wind was unusually gusty for these parts and looking at the red faces and huddling figures out the window Orphen figured they were cold enough for him. Might as well be warm for them in return, eh?

So he spent the majority of the day curled up in a chair in the dinning area, the one closest to the fireplace. A cup of tea at his elbow, an empty plate of what were formerly snacks by the tea and one of his books on magic theory between his elbows. And a blanket draped around him. It really seemed attached to him that day for some reason.

Orphen had wandering in his blood. Not that he could never be content in one place but he was constantly searching for something that /would/ make him content in one place. Azalie had been the first one that he'd found and he had followed her everywhere. And then Bloody August came…. He followed it for revenge, out of hatred and somehow it was movement that comforted him. He wandered and tracked and saw so many things and became more powerful than his teachers at the Tower of Fangs could image he would be, but he never felt a contentment.

A reason he agreed to teaching Majik was part because there was something pleasing about the inn. Its warmth and cherry wood furniture, the smell of spice and friendly bodies. It was comforting and relaxing and Orphen hadn't felt the urge to unwind since before he parted ways with Stephen. Orphen found that this same air permeated inside Majik. His bright smiles and naivete, the grace he retained despite the awkwardness of his growing years. And underneath was a strength and will just waiting to be uncovered, dormant but not useless. It kept the boy strong yet innocent, just as the underlying strength kept the inn so welcoming.

The only reason Orphen was reluctant to /keep/ Majik as an apprentice was his quest for Bloody August. The boy was still too young and green to follow on such a dangerous journey. Orphen wasn't even entirely certain if he'd survive the dragon himself.

"Ousho-sama." The sorcerer jerked upright, realizing he was drifting off in his hands. He couldn't even remember what it was he was reading. "Ousho-sama." Majik said again, his hand pale and gentle on Orphen's shoulder. His smile was soft and eyes patient. "Dinner is ready."

The older boy scrubbed a hand over his face. He was getting lazy. After winter ended, he decided, he had to leave. "Right, right. I'll take it up in my room."

"Of course, Ousho-sama." But when Majik smiled this time it seemed a little more cryptic and left Orphen wondering. Instead of bringing food out to the table or to the room Majik asked, "Please follow me." He led the sorcerer to the kitchen, out the back of the kitchen and to a hall that was a little less lighted and meticulously cared for then the rest of the inn. Orphen had been down this way a few times before and recognized it as the living space for Majik and his father.

Down the hall they went, passed closet spaces and the bedrooms and the bathroom the two shared. The floor was bare, the only carpeting the inn had were in the long stretches of hall by the foyer. There was an opening here that Orphen hadn't been to and in it sat a rather small table laid upon with platters for three. In the kitchenette that was visible from the doorway to the dinning area, Majik's father was seen pulling something off the stove and into a bowl. Upon the counter laid heaps of food, ready for the taking.

"Um." Was all Orphen could manage.

"It's all right, Ousho-sama." Majik smiled up at him. "I talked about it with father and agreed that you should come and eat with us."

"But," Orphen's brow furrowed, "I'm just your teacher."

At this, Majik's smile became a little shy. "I'd also like to think that you're my friend, too. You've helped me a lot and even father says I've changed since you've come along, even if he's still a little hesitant about my want to become a sorcerer."

Orphen lowered his eyes, not certain what to say.

"Ne, Ousho-sama." He tugged lightly at Orphen's jacket. "Christmas isn't just about spending time with your friends and your family. It's also about loving and giving and sharing. It's about peace and togetherness and the kindness in your heart. Not just to those close to you but to everyone. Good will towards men."

When Orphen looked down at Majik, into the clear expanse of his eyes of a midsummer morning, he couldn't see any jest, any falsities. He truly believed what he said and he was ready to spread his kind heart to all those around him. Majik, it seemed, was much stronger than Orphen had initially realized. It humbled him somewhat to be looked up upon by someone so pure in spirit. He felt, suddenly, that to leave Majik in this little inn was a waste. Tower of Fangs needed someone like him- the world needed someone like him. Orphen most of all felt it.

His face spread into a soft smile and he laid a hand upon Majik's shoulder. "Thank you." He said softly. It was the first time he truly meant it in a long, long time.


End file.
